(Hiking) Arizona

 

Photo © 2023 Jennifer Wagner

My second favorite color

is explosive

and luscious.

 

I don’t know if I like

the dirt it leaves

on my shoes.

I’m torn.

 

It means I’ve walked

through it

and lived to tell

 

but the chili powder heat

is a hell

all its own.

 

Hesperidium marmalade,

sandstone, cider, spice

against a spotty blue leopard sky.

 

Sigh.

 

My palms turn sepia from the reach,

and though the beauty is a beast,

 

I know it was always meant

to be a part of me,

 

like a blazing sun,

like love,

 

because

my skin sings

even while it burns.

 

 

© 2023 Jennifer Wagner

 

Photo © 2023 Jennifer Wagner

 

Box(ed)

 

Bring me hope

that hasn’t forgotten

that look in my eyes.

 

Capture

all my longing

long gone

 

and bring it back

as if you’ve wrestled leviathan, stinging nettles,

the inky blackness of your own heart.

 

Bring it back,

run your hand over it,

as if you cared.

 

 

© 2023 Jennifer Wagner